Kevin Laliberte
Editor, Smoky River Express

Cash, and plenty of it for that matter, will be up for grabs this weekend when curling teams from throughout the region converge at H.W. Fish Arena in McLennan for the local curling club’s major fundraising bonspiel. The unique event, which is open to the first 24 teams registered, is being held over the course of three days from April 11 to 13 and will include a beer gardens in addition to a supper/dance Saturday evening at the Elks Hall. Dinner and dance tickets are available to the general public for $20 each and can be purchased at the arena or from any club member. Members of the curling club spent the better part of this past weekend transforming the arena into a three-sheet curling ice surface later this week to accommodate teams participating in the event, aimed at raising funds for the construction of a new $3 million curling rink facility. That process involved the installation of a framed wooden perimeter using 2-by-4’s which will support three brand new vinyl curling house sheets recently purchased by the curling club at an expense of roughly $12,600. The modern vinyl curling sheets will eventually take up permanent residence in the new curling complex upon its eventual construction. Complementing the upcoming cashspiel is a beer gardens, which is being set up in the northwest corner of the arena (Lakeland Eagles dressing room). In other related news, the curling club has come up with several different fundraising initiatives for the bonspiel, ranging from daily 50-50 draws to a calcutta and curling rink pluck, appropriated dubbed “Between a Rock & a New Place.” The pluck will operate in a similar way to Smoky River Ducks Unlimited’s annual duck pluck where people pick from one of 200 wooden pegs embedded in a duck and pay according to the colour on the bottom of the corresponding peg. A wooden downscaled replica of the proposed new curling rink has been custom built by local contractor Raymond L’Heureux and will be used for the fundraiser. “Each colour-coded peg has a price of either $1, $2, $3, $5,” says L’Heureux, adding that there are a number of free pegs available. Each paid peg gets you a ticket which is eligible for one of 10 grand prizes that are being drawn on the afternoon of the final draw. This weekend’s bonspiel includes a 65 per cent payout total on all teams entered. Cash is awarded for each draw won in addition to finishing first overall in respective A, B and C Events. The entry fee for each participating teams is set at $300. The curling club also announced the launch of its cash calendar event last week, which includes $7,600 in cash payouts in conjunction with 52 draw dates. The names of weekly winners are eligible for all draws. A limited number of 300 calendars are available for $50 each with the fundraiser start-up commencing in May. Please show your support for the curling club by purchasing your calendar today. They can be obtained through any one of the following members: Rita L’Heureux, Barry and Collette Whelen, Jocelyne McArthur, Shelley Jackson, Michele Fournier, Kevin Laliberte or Sue Delaurier. The curling club is also still looking for upwards of 40 volunteers to help out with the weekend fundraising bonspiel. For more information contact L’Heureux at 324-3052.

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